by Lola Gabriel
“No way,” she replied shortly, rising to her feet. “I have no interest in ever seeing any of your faces again.”
She especially didn’t want to see Marcus. How could he have ever believed she would steal from him?
I didn’t know him at all, she thought, and I guess he never really knew me, either. She felt as if she had lost him all over again.
“Sit down, Addison.” Tatiana’s voice was like whiplash, and Addison found herself obliging, despite her resolve to be strong. “You’re not thinking clearly.” Addison gritted her teeth and waited. “We only want you to come and help us uproot the real thief. Your presence there will shake her up, undoubtedly.”
“Why do you think that?” Addison asked dubiously. “I am not a threat to anyone there.”
Tatiana sighed, as if Addison were causing her physical pain. “Have you not heard a word I’ve been saying, dear? We thought you were responsible for taking the money because someone set it up to look that way. The withdrawals coincided with your arrival and stopped with your departure. Whoever is stealing the money does not think they have been caught, and if we put you back in the fold, they will continue to use your presence as cover.”
Blood slowly drained from Addison’s face as the reality of the situation set in. She had been someone’s patsy. But whose? Had it been Tavia? Melissa?
She eyed Tatiana. It could’ve even been her.
“Well?” Tatiana asked. “Do you have the guts to stand up for yourself and clear your name, or are you going keep letting people walk all over you your whole life?”
Addison glared at her. What did this woman know about her life? “Don’t you have people who can look into this for you? Like the jackass who broke down our apartment door?”
“I’ll have that fixed for you,” Tatiana assured her. “And to answer your question, of course we do…”
She trailed off, which made Addison wonder what she was missing.
“But?” she asked when Tatiana did not immediately respond. The brunette seemed to be debating what to disclose to her. “If you want me to do this, I think I deserve to know why it’s falling on my head to fix things.”
Tatiana grimaced.
“We would prefer not to involve anyone else in the company,” she confessed, and Addison realized that Marcus was embarrassed that he had brought this to his doorstep. She wondered what Tatiana had to gain by staying quiet, but she was sure the woman had her reasons.
“After I find out who did this, I can leave?” she asked, and Tatiana nodded.
“If that’s what you want. I will see that you are compensated for your efforts.” Tatiana rose, slipping her a card as she brushed off her pants. “Call me when you have decided, but I beg you not to take too long. If you decide not to do this, we will need to devise another plan.”
“I’ll do it,” Addison said suddenly, and Tatiana’s eyes grew large.
“Really?” she said, sounding surprised. “I was sure you would want to agonize over it overnight.”
Addison smiled coldly. “Maybe I’m sick of being so predictable,” she replied.
Tatiana met her gaze, and Addison saw a glimmer of appreciation fall over her face.
“See you Monday morning,” she said, leaving the diner without a backward glance. As soon as she left the diner, Ramon, Janine, and Olivia rushed over to her.
“What the hell was that all about?” they asked at the same time.
Addison chuckled and flopped back into the booth. “The good news is, no one is trying to kill us, Janine. We can go home and call off the police.”
“What?” asked Janine.
“Why?” Ramon questioned.
“How can you be sure?” Olivia demanded. The questions were rapid-fire and from three different directions. Addison held up her hand.
“The bad news is,” she continued, “I might end up on someone else’s hit list.”
The diner was almost unbearable as her friends bombarded her with questions, but Addison barely heard a word. The anticipation of seeing Marcus again blocked out everything else.
15
“I’m shocked she agreed to do this,” Marcus said grimly. “What did you promise her?”
Tatiana gazed at him, an almost bored expression on her face. “I didn’t need to promise her anything. Someone tried to frame her for a white-collar crime. She’s eager to clear her name.”
“Her name is already cleared,” Marcus reminded her, sensing that there was something he wasn’t being told. Tatiana, however, offered nothing else.
He glanced at the time on his computer. Melissa and Addison would be arriving shortly, and the realization made him surprisingly nervous.
What will I say to her? he wondered, shifting his eyes away from Tatiana.
“Maybe you should try being honest with her,” Tatiana suggested, and Marcus’ head bucked upward to stare at her.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded. “With who?”
Tatiana snorted contemptuously.
“You’re not as good an actor as you think,” she informed him. “This pretending to be noncommittal may work for some of the others, but Addison is different, and you know it.” Marcus’ mouth parted, but no words came out. “Are you going to deny that you’ve missed her?” Tatiana asked flatly. “Anyone with eyes can see it.”
Heat rushed to Marcus’ face, and he began to shake his head before he wondered why he was fighting against the accusation.
Since the day Addison had walked out of the penthouse, he had been unable to get her out of his mind. Every aspect of his life had been affected, from his sex drive to his concentration at work. Never had any other woman influenced him in such a way, and he didn’t know how to handle such an influx of emotions.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re in this mess because the others can see you feel more strongly for her than you do for them,” Tatiana continued.
Marcus shook his head firmly. “We have an arrangement,” he said coldly. “There are no petty jealousies or—”
“Oh, spare me the spiel,” Tatiana interrupted, dismissively waving her hand. “I don’t care all that much about it.”
Marcus had to wonder if that was true. After all, Tatiana was not one to give unsolicited advice.
“If you don’t care,” he challenged, “why are you bringing it up?”
She smirked mirthlessly. “I care about this company, Marcus. You may be too blind or too arrogant to see that, but my father invested his whole life into this business. It’s become part of who I am. I don’t want Williams Industries to fail.”
“It won’t fail!” Marcus snapped. “This is a minor setback, really. It’s just three million, Tatiana. We could creatively write that off.”
“You and I both know it’s not about the money,” Tatiana retorted, rolling her eyes at him, as if he was purposely being dense. “Your underlings see a weakness in you and they are exploiting it. When has this ever happened before?”
Marcus realized she was right.
“Why would any of them do something like this?” he murmured aloud as he sat up, even though it was not a question meant for the woman standing before him.
“To catch your attention and gain the upper hand, obviously,” she grunted. “Are you deliberately ignoring everything that is happening around you? Whoever stole the money can see that you care about this girl.”
“I care about all of them,” he replied. but there was less conviction in his voice than he had intended.
Tatiana threw up her hands in annoyance. “Fine! Whatever you say. Continue on the path you’re going and allow this girl to slip away because you’re too stubborn to admit you’re in love with her.”
Tatiana’s choice of words shocked Marcus to his core. Before he could argue Tatiana’s assessment, though, Melissa glided up the hall toward the office.
“The show’s about to start,” Tatiana chirped quietly. “I cannot wait to see how this plays out.” She left the room just as Melissa walked throu
gh the door.
“Good morning,” Melissa sang, gliding onto her desk chair. “Anything I need to know?”
But Marcus could only stare at her, a foreign sensation filling his gut.
I feel nothing towards her, he thought. Not a single emotion.
There was a time when Melissa’s presence would automatically cause a stirring in his trousers, but he could not remember the last time he’d even looked at her sexually. Or Tavia. Or Erica. In fact, he hadn’t wanted anyone but Addison.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Melissa commented. As the words left her lips, Addison turned the corner from his private reception area, heading toward them, her eyes trained on the floor.
Marcus felt his heart catch in his throat as he stared at her, biting on his lower lip. She looked beautiful, despite being slightly pale. Her red hair was pinned back in a loose bun, two tendrils embracing either side of her long face. Even from such a distance, her eyes burned with bright, green intensity.
“Marcus, are you all right?” Melissa demanded, her attention on him.
She had not yet seen Addison, but Marcus could not take his eyes from her slender form. She looked determined—angry, even—as she entered the office.
Melissa looked up at her. Her features suddenly grew hard—ugly, like a mask had been pulled over her face.
“What is she doing here?” Melissa asked, her face flushed scarlet while Addison entered the workspace, dropping her purse at her station. It was as if she had never been away, except that she didn’t say a word to anyone.
“Welcome back,” Marcus said gruffly.
Addison nodded but did not meet his eyes, causing a stab of frustration to pierce his heart.
She won’t even look at me, he thought. This is never going to work. I can’t have her in here, adding to the tension in this place.
But he knew he was not going to do anything about it. Marcus had longed to see her. And there she was, finally, only a few feet away.
“Marcus, may I speak with you privately?” Melissa asked, her tone cold.
Marcus shook his head. “I’m working, Melissa. I suggest you do the same.” He did not look in her direction as he spoke, but he could feel the darts shooting out of her eyes. “In fact, go get me a coffee,” he instructed, turning to Addison. “Addison, would you like one, too?”
Both women stared at him in shock. He had never extended an offer like that to any of the women in the past.
“No,” Addison answered, and Melissa bristled with anger.
“Addison can go,” she said without moving from her spot.
“I asked you to go,” Marcus replied shortly. “Is that going to be a problem?” He finally turned his head to gaze at Melissa, and by the change in her expression, it was clear that she could see the ire on his face.
“No,” she muttered, reluctantly rising to oblige. She cast Addison a strange look and sullenly left the room.
As the door closed in her wake, Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but Addison held up her hand before he could say a word.
“I am only here to figure out who tried to frame me,” she told him firmly. “After that, I will be on my way.”
There was a deep anger in her voice, which startled Marcus.
“What do you have to be so mad about?” he demanded defensively. “You’re the one who left me, remember?” He realized his tone sounded petulant, and he hated himself for the near whine in his voice.
“And because of that, you assumed I was stealing from you?” Addison snarled with uncharacteristic fire. Marcus was taken aback by her tone, and for a second, he did not have a response. “Is your ego so inflated that you think no woman could leave you?” she continued, standing up from her seat, her eyes blazing with anger. “Am I the first one who got tired of sitting around waiting for you to squeeze her into your schedule? And to add insult to injury, you send a man to terrorize my roommate and me? You’re a piece of work, Marcus.”
“Addy,” he began, “I—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she hissed, spinning to retrieve her chair. “I just want to get to the bottom of this and forget I ever walked into this building.”
Beneath her anger, Marcus could hear something else in her voice: a wistfulness that could not be covered.
If she wanted to walk away so badly, she would have. She would’ve refused to be a part of this plan. She came back because she missed me, too, he understood, his pulse racing. She just doesn’t trust me like she did before I brought her into the company.
Although Marcus had had his own doubts about her, they had been easily overcome. Addison’s doubts about him wouldn’t be that easy to forget and forgive. Marcus would need to regain her trust in him.
Melissa pushed her way back into the room, dropping his espresso onto the desk, her dark eyes narrowing suspiciously as she looked at them.
“What’s going on?” she demanded, but neither of them answered, turning their heads away in unison. It was important not to arouse any suspicion.
They had to pretend nothing was wrong, that Addison had simply returned to the fold as if she had never been gone, no matter how unbelievable it was for the others to swallow. If Tatiana was right, whoever was pilfering the money would simply go back to their old ways without a second thought, believing that their scapegoat was under their nose.
Tatiana seemed certain that it would work out precisely the way she planned, but Marcus had his doubts. Still, he was grateful to have this time with Addison, even if she couldn’t see it.
Melissa exhaled in frustration, sensing that she was not going to get any answers from either party, and retreated to her desk.
Marcus had a feeling it was going to be a long day, and while he was tempted to leave, he could not bring himself to walk away from Addison. It felt as though her aura was firmly keeping him in place. Whatever happened with the money, Marcus knew that he couldn’t let Addison go again. Unfortunately, he had a sinking feeling that he had already lost her, and he had no idea how to make it right.
16
It was clear that the others had no idea what to make of Addison’s presence in the office. At their first opportunity, they cornered her in the break room.
“You’re back!” Tavia gasped when she laid her green eyes on Addison’s face. “How is that even possible?”
Addison wasn’t sure how to answer, and she wished she had discussed a better cover story with Tatiana, but it was too late now. She was stuck improvising.
“I don’t know what that means,” she replied dryly, turning her back to fix a coffee.
Tavia and Erica lit up cigarettes at the same time.
“It means that once Marcus kicks you out, you’re done,” Tavia explained. “There are no second chances! How did you get him to take you back?”
Addison glanced over her shoulder, stirring sugar into a black coffee. “Marcus didn’t kick me out,” she responded simply. “I left.”
A dubious silence met her words.
“You left?” Erica echoed. “What do you mean, you left?”
Sighing to herself, Addison turned and took a sip of her coffee. “I don’t know any other way to explain it. It wasn’t working out. I moved out of the penthouse and left.”
They gaped at her, as if wondering whether to believe her. Addison thought back to the words she’d spat at Marcus earlier, and she realized that they were true. No one had ever willingly left Marcus Williams. They were all happy to remain at his beck and call while he did whatever he wanted with them. Addison chided herself for ever believing she was actually in love with him.
But she knew it wasn’t just a passing thought she’d had; it still existed deep within her, and it was real, no matter how furious she was with him.
It doesn’t matter, she reminded herself. He doesn’t care about you enough. I am not a priority to him. He’s made that clear.
“No way!” Tavia finally scoffed. “You had it the best out of all of us! Why would you leave?”
&
nbsp; Addison regretted telling them anything and shrugged her shoulders.
“Better job opportunity,” she lied, heading for the door.
“What are you doing back, then?” Erica demanded. The animus in her voice was evident, and Addison slowly turned to stare at them, a slight dread filling her as they glared in her direction.
“I’m not sure,” she said plaintively. “I guess I just can’t stay away.”
Their faces relaxed simultaneously, as if she had confirmed that she was just as weak as they were, powerless to fight the attraction they all shared for the same man. But she was not weak—she wasn’t going to settle for being number two or three or five.
“Addison, may I have a word with you?”
Tatiana appeared in the doorway of the breakroom and the receptionists lowered their eyes, like her presence humbled them.
“Yes,” Addison agreed, following the CFO out of the room and down the hall toward the stairwell, leading to the main floor of the executive suites.
Tatiana kept a brisk pace as she made her way toward her office on the opposite end of the floor, and Addison tried her best to keep up. Tatiana paused outside her door and unlocked it, gesturing for Addison to enter first.
“Do you have something already?” Addison asked as Tatiana trailed after her, closing the door behind them.
“I want to talk to you about Marcus,” the brunette responded, leaning up against the desk, folding her arms over her chest. Addison tensed, her hands clenching. “I can tell by your posture that it’s a touchy subject,” Tatiana commented wryly.
“I really don’t see what there is to discuss,” Addison replied shortly.
“He’s in love with you.”
The statement caught Addison off guard, and her lips parted to argue.
“No,” she said. “He’s not.”
“He is,” Tatiana insisted. “He just doesn’t know it because he’s lived his whole life avoiding commitment and real emotion.”
A combination of irritation and embarrassment colored Addison’s cheeks.